Is there any evidence that such psychiatric treatment can be effective? I understand the reluctance to resort to a prison term, especially for a foreign NTU student but I'm not sure the recommendation for psychiatric treatment is wise partly because the effectiveness of such treatment may very well depend on what sort of treatment it is.

Why was Chan's case brought before a court in the first place? How was he caught torturing and killing these cats, and why wasn't he sent to a regular hospital with head and facial injuries? Would that prove to be a more or a less effective "psychiatric treatment"?